Breckinridge Mill is a remnant of the grain and milling industry that figured significantly in the economy of antebellum Virginia. One of the oldest mills in the region, the multi-level brick structure was erected in 1822 by James Breckinridge, a leading Federalist politician and landowner of southwestern Virginia, who lived in a mansion (since destroyed) nearby. The fine quality of its construction is shown in the Flemish bond brickwork. Like most of Virginia’s early grist mills, Breckinridge Mill stood abandoned for many years following the introduction of modern milling establishments. The building received a new lease on life when it was sympathetically converted to apartments in 1980. The mill replaced an 1804 mill also erected by Breckinridge.